Century II Campaign Endowed Equipment Fund (C2E2)

Fall Proposals

Deadline: October 10, 2024 at 4 p.m.
Award Period: All awards will begin January 1. The award duration is 12 months.

Program Description

The Michigan Tech Century II Campaign Endowed Equipment fund (C2E2) is a program aimed at providing equipment money to improve the lives of faculty, students, and staff campus-wide. The program is supported by the Michigan Tech Fund through donations by individuals and organizations to the fund. 

The C2E2 is administered by the vice president for research. A faculty committee reviews all proposals towards the end of the fall semester and recommends funding to the vice president.

General Philosophy The primary factor considered in reviewing C2E2 proposals is the broadness of the impact on campus. Proposals that benefit the campus as a whole receive the highest priority, while those that help individuals or small groups receive the lowest priority. Proposals that benefit multiple departments or groups fall in the middle. Proposals seeking more than $5,000 from C2E2 will be considered only in exceptional circumstances.

Unacceptable Items to Request

In response to numerous proposals over the years, it should be understood that funds for the following items will NOT be awarded.

  • Personal computers or personal computer accessories for faculty, staff, or research groups. Computer equipment for student labs should be provided by departmental or student lab fee resources.
  • Requests for funds to cover partial expenses of equipment that has already been purchased are not high priority.

Proposal Format

Follow the following layout for the C2E2 proposal package.

C2E2 Cover Sheet

A. Overview and Significance

  • Provide a brief overview of the project and its significance to the C2E2 program.

B. Equipment Requested and Impact on Michigan Tech's Campus
Equipment can be broadly construed as benefiting undergraduate and graduate education, as well as research.

  • Provide a specific description of the equipment, including price quotes, and a management plan of the requested equipment (i.e. who will perform up-keep and maintenance of the equipment, how you will cover maintenance costs over the years, etc).
  • The importance of the equipment to ongoing or future educational and/or research projects should be explained, including a discussion of the groups, departments, colleges who will use it and the benefits to the University as a whole.
  • If equipment might normally be purchased with departmental, research, or student lab funds, explain why C2E2 funds are being requested.

C. Matching Funds
Completing a cost share form in Banweb is not required.

  • Proposals must clearly document matching funds equal to at least 50% of the total cost.
  • Proposals with external cost share are particularly encouraged.
  • Awards may be approved with less than 50% matching funds in rare cases, especially when campus-wide impact can be clearly demonstrated. A detailed explanation for the lack of matching funds must be provided.
  • Suggested sources of matching funds include contributions from discretionary accounts, start-up funds, departmental funds, and Dean’s funds. Matches in real dollars rather than in-kind contributions are given higher preference.
  • For cost sharing, a statement of support from the person authorizing the cost share must be included.

D. Previous Support

  • Proposers who have received C2E2 funds in the past must disclose all previous C2E2 awards and provide pertinent information regarding the impact of the previous award(s), in terms of benefit to the University.
  • Future funding hinges on receipt of previous award report.

E. Letters of support

  • A letter of support from the appropriate dean, chair, or supervisor is required and must be included with the final proposal package.
  • If faculty in the same department submit multiple proposals, chairs need to prioritize them based on need and benefit. Natasha Chopp will contact the department chair requesting the prioritization letter. Prioritization letters are due within seven calendar days of the proposal deadline. The letters can be sent directly to Natasha Chopp at nichopp@mtu.edu.
  • If a dean would like to prioritize the proposals, that were submitted under their college, they can do so. Natasha Chopp will contact the dean to ask if they would like to submit a prioritization letter. Prioritization letters are due within seven calendar days of the proposal deadline. The letters can be sent directly to Natasha Chopp at nichopp@mtu.edu.

Proposal Length

The body of the proposal should be limited to four pages or less, with support documents as necessary.

Proposal Submission Requirements

Please submit the proposal materials as one pdf file to c2e2-l@mtu.edu.